


Amor Verus Numquam Moritur (Spe Verus Numquam Moritur)

by ralf



Series: Close to Canon [26]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Episode Related, F/M, Feelings, Friendship, Gen, Introspection, M/M, Magnus is a hopeless romantic and sometimes that's more hopeless than romantic, Past Magnus Bane/Camille Belcourt, idk man, very light angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-06
Updated: 2020-06-06
Packaged: 2021-03-03 23:35:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,088
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24573904
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ralf/pseuds/ralf
Summary: “Please, Magnus, we both know you still care for that necklace a lot, even if you gave it to me to flirt with Alec.” When Magnus opens his mouth to protest she cuts him off. “You came out of hiding for a chance to get it when Valentine was on the loose killing warlocks. You really can't deny that you still love it.”He inclines his head in concession. “I see how you reached that conclusion... but if I'm honest I was glad to get rid of it as quickly as I did.”[Set at some point after 2x12. Magnus, Isabelle and a necklace.]
Relationships: Magnus Bane & Isabelle Lightwood, Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Series: Close to Canon [26]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/936036
Comments: 4
Kudos: 96





	Amor Verus Numquam Moritur (Spe Verus Numquam Moritur)

**Author's Note:**

> Reworked some of the original idea to accommodate BAMF Izzy repairing the necklace herself (obviously something that pre-S3!ralf couldn't have made up in her wildest dreams XD)

“Isabelle. What an unexpected pleasure.”

Isabelle smiles shyly as she passes Magnus into the loft. “Hey Magnus.”

She looks good, much better than Magnus would have expected that early on in her withdrawal process, but then he knows better than most what miracles makeup can work. Still, her eyes are lively, she's steady on her feet and her visiting him at all bodes well for her recovery.

Following her lead he settles down on the couch with her, watching her curiously. “What can I do for you?”

“Actually,” Izzy hedges, smoothing down the seam of her burgundy dress. A sign of nervousness. “I came to apologize.”

“Apologize?” he echoes. No matter what might have happened after their ill-advised bargaining attempt with Azazel when they thought he had taken Izzy, she must know that none of that was her fault. Though Magnus supposes self-blaming without rhyme or reason might be a Lightwood family trait.

Before he can reassure Isabelle that he doesn't blame her and she really shouldn't either she pulls a familiar necklace from her purse and hands it to him. Startled, Magnus takes it. The cold metal settles smoothly in his palm, the detailing as timelessly elegant as he remembers – as if he could ever forget – and the ruby cracked right through the middle. Oh.

“It broke when Azazel attacked me,” Izzy explains quietly. “I'm sorry.”

Magnus shakes his head, eyes lingering on the crack running through the stone. “It's yours, you don't need to apologize to me.”

Izzy snorts and that finally draws Magnus's attention away from the necklace. She shoots him an incredulous look. “Please, Magnus, we both know you still care for that necklace a lot, even if you gave it to me to flirt with Alec.” When Magnus opens his mouth to protest she cuts him off. “You came out of hiding for a chance to get it when Valentine was on the loose killing warlocks. You really can't deny that you still love it.”

He inclines his head in concession. “I see how you reached that conclusion... but if I'm honest I was glad to get rid of it as quickly as I did. Flirting with Alexander was just a bonus.”

“Really?” Izzy sounds unconvinced.

Magus evades her gaze, wondering when exactly he decided to be open about his feelings on the matter. He looks back down at the necklace. It weighs much heavier in his hand than its four karat have any right to. “Really.”

A pause, then Isabelle asks, her voice soft, “Why?”

Magnus sighs, contemplates the jewelry that has grown slightly warm against his skin and he's back in that club, holding the necklace in his hands again for the first time in almost a century, the dainty chain links tickling his fingers. He remembers how his joy at finally having retrieved his possession from unworthy shadowhunter clutches had turned to ash when the club's lights reflected off the engraving.

Amor verus numquam moritur. True love cannot die.

How naive he'd been, to truly believe that. To think he'd found true love with Camille. To remember how much hurt he'd borne, how much suffering he'd made himself endure for her sake.

The worst part was that nothing had really changed. There, in a loud crowded club holding onto a relic of the past he had to face that, buried and hidden underneath his lighthearted superficiality he still yearned for something solid, something confidable, something built to last. Despite all of life's lessons to the contrary his starry-eyed faith in an eternal happy ever after had prevailed, like the most useless of weeds.

The necklace was a testament to one of his most painful misjudgements, of a fatal weakness he'd thought he'd overcome but was now realizing he had only managed to cover up. It was still there, in his hollow chest, in his lonely soul, in his empty little heart.

The truth was, his hope had never died. True love, he had never experienced.

He couldn't look at the necklace any longer so he tucked it away in his suit jacket, and when he found the flimsiest excuse to pawn it off to Isabelle he pounced.

 _Despite everything it's a beautiful piece of jewelry and deserves to be cherished_ , he told himself. It didn't matter that his eyes kept flittering to the necklace's new owner's brother and that he kept declining Magnus's attention. Magnus was just passing the time, was just taking his mind off of things anyway. Nothing about this was _serious_. He wouldn't repeat past mistakes, no matter what his traitorous heart whispered.

Magnus blinks away from the memory. He turns the necklace around. AMOR, the gravure reads and he smiles wanly. Meeting Isabelle's huge dark eyes he says, “Because it reminded me too much of things I wished to forget. Sometimes our fondest possessions are our most painful keepsakes.”

She looks like she wants to say something but is unsure which words are the right ones, so Magnus hands her the necklace with a genuinge smile and lets her see.

The truth is, his hope has never died and he's come to realize that it's not a bad thing. Maybe what he longs for is not as unattainable as he used to think. It is near impossible to think of his Alexander and not believe in true love, after all.

While he might never be able to look at this necklace without being reminded of dark times in his life the forlornness it used to inspire has faded. He's alright now.

“I'm fine, Isabelle,” he assures, and she believes him.

“I can mend the stone and restore the spell, but I'd recommend you repair the fixings first,” Magnus says, pointing out one of the metal hooks fastening the stone that's crooked. “It's always easier to charm the entire piece.”

Izzy stares at the necklace with a thoughtful expression. “I think I'll rework it completely,” she says suddenly. “If you don't mind?”

“Of course not, Isabelle,” Magnus affirms. “It's yours. You can do with it as you please.”

She smiles at him, tentatively at first and then wider. “I love this necklace, but I barely see the stone myself which kind of defeats the purpose of its spell. As a bracelet it'll be much more functional.”

Magnus takes in her excitement and can't help his fond laugh. Lightwoods and their knack for practicability. He really shouldn't be surprised.

“I can't wait to see what you do with it,” he says, and means it with his whole heart.


End file.
